Man faces trial in East Liberty rape

A man was held for court Thursday on charges he raped a woman twice inside an East Liberty apartment and tried to strangle her with a telephone cord.

Edward Covington, 56, who has addresses in East Liberty and Green Tree, faces charges of attempted homicide, rape and other crimes.

District Judge Kevin Cooper increased his bail from $100,000 to $300,000 at a preliminary hearing Thursday, according to online court records.

Pittsburgh police wrote in a criminal complaint that a woman told them she and Mr. Covington drank and smoked together Oct. 7 in his apartment in the 5600 block of Penn Avenue and he confronted her because he thought she went to the Pirates game with another man, an accusation she denied.

She told police Mr. Covington knocked her to the ground, shoved a towel in her mouth and raped her, according to a criminal complaint. She told officers he stopped, yelled at her again and then raped her a second time.

The woman also told police she bit Mr. Covington's hand to try to get him to stop and in response he tried to strangle her with a telephone cord and threatened to kill her and her family.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette generally does not publish the names of accusers in sex crimes unless they consent to being identified.